The present invention relates to a device and method for containing chemical spills, and more particularly to a water-soluble envelope having a chemical-immobilizing reagent therein.
Spilled toxic and other contaminating chemicals must be contained to prevent or impede those chemicals from entering desired environments. A wide variety of reagents has been developed to immobilize spilled chemicals by absorption, gelling, or thickening. The reagents are introduced onto or about the spilled chemicals in a variety of ways including disposable packets.
One such disposable packet is manufactured by Multiform Desiccants, Inc., of Buffalo, N.Y. and includes a sealed envelope enclosing a chemical-immobilizing reagent. The envelope is fabricated of a starch paper having a continuous gum adhesive coating thereon. The adhesive can be either moisture or heat-activated in selected areas to seal the envelope. The gum adhesive and the starch paper are both water-soluble and, therefore, disintegrate when subjected to a spilled chemical including water. Upon dissolution of the envelope, the reagent is released to immobilize the spilled chemical. Tests have shown that the Multiform packet requires approximately one minute and fifteen seconds to one minute and forty-five seconds to dissolve completely. This dissolution time is undesirably slow in many situations.